The Coalition wants to slash so-called “wasteful” government spending, and Canberra is firmly in its sights.
More specifically, Peter Dutton wants to trim what the Coalition claims is excess fat off the federal bureaucracy.
But the details of the plan, including which 41,000 federal public service jobs will be cut, remain unclear. Mixed messaging from the Coalition has added to the mystery.
Here’s a timeline of what the Coalition has said to try to make sense of it all.
June 2024
The Coalition has long-supported small government. When last in opposition, it similarly promised to shave the number of mandarins and boffins in Canberra.
But perhaps the first sign the opposition would bring it to the fore of its 2025 re-election platform was in 2024.
In June last year, addressing the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dutton, the Liberal leader, says he will rein in Labor’s “wasteful spending”. In the next sentence, he targets Labor’s decision to expand the number of public servants by 36,000 since coming to power.
That 36,000 figure has since increased to about 41,400. After Tuesday’s 2025 budget, Labor says it will increase the federal public service by 3,400 roles over the next year.
August 2024
Two months later, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, boldly declares the 36,000 extra public servants “will go” as part of a Dutton government’s “first step”. It marks the first time a Coalition member explicitly says all newly created roles since May 2022 will be slashed if the party wins the election.
Speaking on 6PR radio on 29 August, Littleproud says: “The Nationals have made it clear that we will get rid of those in Canberra. There’ll be 36,000 public servants that will go. We don’t need more public servants.”
December 2024
On 5 December, the public service minister, Katy Gallagher, warns that a Coalition government will slash-and-burn the federal public service.
In response, the shadow minister, Jane Hume, says Australia must maintain its “world-class public service” but adds that taxpayers “should not be expected to foot the bill for an expanding public service that provides worse services”.
January 2025
Dutton announces in late January he will introduce a “government efficiency” platform if elected, appointing Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa as its special minister.
The department of government efficiency, or DOGE, is a nod to Donald Trump’s efforts to cut the number of government workers.
Dutton says: “I look forward to the complementary task of increasing efficiency more broadly and ensuring government priorities align with the priorities of everyday Australians.”
On 31 January, Price tells The Australian the opposition will look to “sensibly consolidate the public service, with a focus on protecting essential services but making sensible reductions where there is duplication or excess capacity”.
Later that day, Dutton declares diversity and inclusion positions, along with “change managers” and “internal communication specialists”, will be on the chopping block. “Such positions … do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians,” he says.
“They’re certainly not frontline service delivery roles that can make a difference to people’s lives.”
February 2025
In early February, Hume is again asked if the opposition can clarify how many jobs are at risk.
Avoiding a specific number, Hume says: “We will contain the growth in the public service, and we will make sure that the public service is right-sized to deliver the services that Australians expect and deserve, and we will not be cutting essential services.”
The next day, 6 February, Dutton tells a press conference in Canberra he will make announcements in “due course” but says “I’ve been clear we’re not having 36,000 additional public servants in Canberra.”
On 10 February, Littleproud walks back his August comments that all 36,000 jobs will be slashed. Instead, he suggests a hiring freeze. “We’re not gonna have to cut hardly any of them, but we will be looking and prioritising where those public servants are, and we will be making sure that we get the right balance,” he says.
“We’ve been very clear – the 36,000 new public servants that they [Labor] budgeted for – we can’t see where you’re going to need them, and they haven’t been [employed], in theory. So we’re not cutting anybody’s job.”
March 2025
The confusion continues in March after the federal budget’s release.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is asked whether the 41,000 new public service roles since the Albanese government took power should prepare to lose their jobs if Dutton is elected.
Taylor tells ABC radio: “We know that the public service has got so big now, attrition rates are high. So, let’s be clear: we would be relying on what we’ve been relying on … as I said, I talked about attrition a moment ago, and there’s a natural attrition rate now in the public service, which is high because it’s big.”
On the same day, Dutton is asked if 40,000 jobs is his target to cut.
“That’s exactly right,” Dutton responds.
“We’ve been very open and honest with that because we want an efficient public service, but growing by 40,000 the number of public servants in Canberra is not going to help families put food on their table or deliver the services that they need.
“We will always manage the economy more effectively, and we will always keep Australians safe. They’re the two hallmarks of a Liberal government, and cleaning up Labor’s mess is what we’ve done in the past, and it’s what we’ll have to do after the next election as well.”
In his budget reply speech on 27 March, Dutton confirms the Coalition’s plan to cull all 41,000 positions created under Labor. The mass sackings, he says, will save the budget $7bn a year “once in place” and more than $10bn over the forward estimates.
Dutton claims frontline positions will be spared and promises the Coalition will invest in essential services such as health, aged care, the NDIS, defence and veterans “in line with the national interest and public expectations”.
He does not clarify whether all 41,000 newly created roles will be cut or whether it will be a reprioritisation of roles that existed before the last election.
